Thursday, December 31, 2015

This week, we begin the new sefer of
Shemos. It is also called the Sefer Hageulah since in it we were
redeemed from slavery and built the Mishkan for Hashem’s Shechinah to rest.
According to the Ramban, though Eretz Yisrael is the only place where we can be
called completely redeemed, if we have a set place for the Shechinah, then
there is a certain amount of redemption in that as well.

The story of Moshe’s growing up in the
house of Paroh is well-known, maybe most for the irony of Paroh raising the one
who would lead the charge against him! But after Moshe kills an Egyptian for
beating a helpless Jew, Paroh turns against him and tries to have him killed. A
pasuk later in the parsha, during Moshe’s famous conversation with Hashem by
the burning bush, gives us the details.

“וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה
אֵלָ֗יו מִ֣י שָׂ֣ם פֶּה֘ לָֽאָדָם֒ א֚וֹ מִֽי־יָשׂ֣וּם אִלֵּ֔ם א֣וֹ חֵרֵ֔שׁ א֥וֹ
פִקֵּ֖חַ א֣וֹ עִוֵּ֑ר הֲלֹ֥א אָֽנֹכִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה” “And Hashem said to
him (Moshe), ‘Who gave man a mouth, or made him mute or deaf or seeing or
blind? Is it not I, Hashem!” (Shemos 4:11). Rashi brings a medrash that
explains that this refers to when Paroh decided to have Moshe executed, he
tried to shout out to the guards to grab him, but Hashem made him mute.
Additionally, Hashem made the guards deaf so they couldn’t hear Paroh tell them
to grab Moshe, and He made the executioner blind so he couldn’t see Moshe while
he ran off the stage.

I had a question on this medrash which I
was happy to see is asked by the Sifsei Chachamim. Once, Hashem made Paroh
mute, why did He have to do anything else? Once Paroh can’t say anything, there
is no danger of anything happening to Moshe! He explains that Paroh became deaf
long enough to allow Moshe to run away. Once Moshe escaped, Paroh tried to
command his guards to chase after him, but Hashem made them deaf, and all they
knew was that Paroh needed something done quickly. So they went and starting running
around without any clue of what they were supposed to be doing. But Paroh didn’t
realize that they hadn’t understood him, so he assumed that they had chased
after Moshe without success.

This still doesn’t answer why Hashem
made the executioners blind; in fact, I believe it only strengthens the
question! At this time, I don’t have an answer.

The Sifsei Chachamim continues with his
explanation of the Rashi. How come the pasuk needs to tell me that Hashem gives
people sight? If the whole pasuk is representing what He did to Paroh and his
servants, why does it include that Moshe retained all his senses? He explains
that the word used here for sight, “פִקֵּ֖חַ”,
is also used to mean someone who keeps his eyes open, someone who pays
attention to his surroundings and to details. Specifically in this case, it
means someone who was expecting something to happen, someone who was expecting
Hashem to be there for him.

Moshe did not know
what was going to happen while he was being brought to the executioner’s stand,
but he did know that he needed to be ready for any opportunity afforded to him.
He was not walking with his head down in despair or held high with pride, he
walked with purpose; observing the situation to see if Hashem would provide an
opportunity for him. He noticed right away, even before anyone else, when the
executioner went blind and couldn’t see him, so he was able to jump off the
stage and into the desert before anyone had a chance to move. The pasuk tells
us that this was a direct inspiration from Hashem, and Hashem was confirming to
Moshe that He would always be looking out for him.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Parshas Vayechi brings us to the end of
Sefer Bereishis as well as the end of Yaakov’s life. Yaakov prepares his children
for the future by giving them blessings and guidance for the long galus ahead.
Interestingly, while this parsha is full of brachos given to many people, none
of them are for the actual people to which they are given! Every single bracha
is for their descendants; but not even close ones, ones that haven’t even been
born yet!

The first bracha given by Yaakov in the
parsha is to Yosef’s two sons, Menashe and Efraim. Everyone knows the story of
how Yaakov switched his hands, placing his right hand on Efraim and his left on
Menashe, even though the former was the younger son. When Yosef sees this, he
immediately tries to switch them back, when Yaakov informs him that this was
intentional. Yaakov intended to recognize Efraim as the “first-born” son over Menashe,
similar to what he did with Yosef among his own brothers. Yosef, obviously
afraid of a repeat performance of what happened to him, disapproved; but Yaakov
persisted.

Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetzky is his sefer,
Emes L’Yaakov, asks an interesting question. This was not the first time that
Yaakov had placed Efraim before Menashe. Earlier in the parsha, Yaakov tells
Yosef, “וְעַתָּ֡ה שְׁנֵֽי־בָנֶ֩יךָ֩ הַנּֽוֹלָדִ֨ים לְךָ֜
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם עַד־בֹּאִ֥י אֵלֶ֛יךָ מִצְרַ֖יְמָה לִי־הֵ֑ם אֶפְרַ֨יִם֙ וּמְנַשֶּׁ֔ה
כִּרְאוּבֵ֥ן וְשִׁמְע֖וֹן יִֽהְיוּ־לִֽי” “And now, your two sons that were born to you in the land
of Egypt, before I came to Egypt, are mine. Efraim and Menashe are to me like
Reuven and Shimon” (Bereishis 48:5). Yaakov said this before he gave them
their bracha. How come Yosef didn’t get upset at Yaakov then for placing Efraim
first?

The commonly given
answer to this question is that Yosef didn’t see anything wrong with Yaakov
saying Efraim before Menashe during a regular conversation. It was only when
Yaakov was blessing them, with the same exact blessing to each one, that Yosef
saw clearly what Yaakov was doing. Therefore, he immediately stepped in and
asked Yaakov what was up.

R’ Yaakov says his own
answer by first asking a question. This is the only recorded instance of Yaakov
blessing his grandchildren. Why did Yaakov feel a need to bless Efraim and
Menashe more than the rest of his descendants who were also about to spend
centuries in exile? He explains that out of all the descendants of Yaakov,
Efraim and Menashe were the only ones who had not lived in Eretz Yisrael and in
the completely holy environment of Yaakov’s house. They had been born and bred
in Mitzrayim, and while they had become tremendous tzaddikim, they still lacked
the experience of residing in a completely holy atmosphere. Therefore, they
needed the most chizuk in terms of their descendants surviving the exile
in Mitzrayim; this is also why Yaakov says that he considers them like Reuven
and Shimon, he needed to give them brachos as if they were his own sons in
order to protect them from the galus. So Yaakov gave them a bracha by
themselves, and relied on the brachos he gave the brothers to give chizuk
to their children.

So why was Efraim
placed before Menashe? If you look at the pesukim dealing with the naming of Efraim
and Menashe, when Menashe was named, Yosef mentions the contrast between that
time and when he was living at his father’s house. However, when Efraim was
born, Yosef just mentions the success he had enjoyed in Egypt. Says R’ Yaakov, this
shows that by the time Efraim was born, Yosef already had a stronger connection
to Egyptian lifestyle and culture, and therefore, Efraim needed more protection
from the galus. So Yaakov blessed him before Menashe.

Throughout these
blessings as well as the conversations Yaakov has with Yosef and then with the
rest of the brothers, there is a strong theme of Yaakov impressing upon them that
this time in Mitzrayim will be galus. While also giving them hope that
they will eventually leave there, even more so, he impresses upon them that
they are not where they belong. Their proper place is in Eretz Yisrael.

Even with all the
terrible things the Egyptians did to Bnei Yisrael and even with all the
miracles Hashem performed for them, there were still many people who didn’t want
to leave Mitzrayim. Chazal tell us that these people did not make it back to
Eretz Yisrael and the true geulah, one way or another. B’ezrat Hashem, we will
be redeemed soon; in the meantime, let us remember the lessons of this week’s
parsha, and Yaakov Avinu’s warning to us (remember, the blessings he gave his
sons for not for them, but for their descendants, us!) to remember our roots,
where we truly belong, and where we can experience holiness of the highest
level.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

You may have noticed over the past few weeks I have been promising a big announcement.

I am very happy to announce that in the next few weeks, I will be releasing my first book entitled, "Reality Check: A Handbook of Hashkafa!"

The idea behind "Reality Check" started around two years ago. I was working on another project at the time, dealing with more advanced Hashkafic issues, when I realized that I was asking the wrong questions and seeking the wrong answers. So many people I spoke to seemed to pause when discussing the reason and logic behind so many of the mitzvos that we do; even the more basic ideas.

Furthermore, upon doing more research, I realized that there was no simple guide to finding the answers to this question. If I wanted an answer, I had to go through huge seforim and read many words until finally reaching the full explanation. I felt that these two issues were causing major problems. First, the lack of knowledge behind the “what and why” of Torah and mitzvos prevents us from developing a true and strong connection with Hashem. Secondly, the lack of easy access to these truths made it difficult to overcome this first issue!

I decided to attack these issues head on. “Reality Check” is the result.

This book presents the explanations to many of the basic ideas of Judaism, from why we keep Shabbos, to how we are supposed to view davening, the truth of the Torah, what is the meaning behind Olam Haba, and much more. Each chapter is written in a way that the topic can be read and understood in only a few minutes, making it easy to understand and absorb these important ideas.

It is my hope that this bookwill lead us to be inspired through a greater understanding of Hashem, our world, and the Torah.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Parshas Vayishlach brings about the long
awaited showdown between Yaakov and Esav. After waiting years to confront
Yaakov for stealing the brachos, Esav finally got his chance at revenge. When
he heard Yaakov was returning to Eretz Yisrael from Charan, he immediately gathered
400 men and began marching towards him. When Yaakov heard that Esav was coming,
he began to prepare for the inevitable confrontation. He prepared his camp for
battle, he davened to Hashem to protect him, and he arranged a lavish,
three-part gift to be sent to Esav.

Together with the gift, he gave his
messengers very specific instructions. “וַיְצַו אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹן
לֵאמֹר כִּי יִפְגָּשְׁךָ עֵשָׂו אָחִי וִשְׁאֵלְךָ לֵאמֹר לְמִי אַתָּה וְאָנָה תֵלֵךְ
וּלְמִי אֵלֶּה לְפָנֶיךָ. וְאָמַרְתָּ לְעַבְדְּךָ לְיַעֲקֹב מִנְחָה הִוא שְׁלוּחָה
לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו וְהִנֵּה גַם הוּא אַחֲרֵינוּ. וַאֲמַרְתֶּם גַּם הִנֵּה עַבְדְּךָ
יַעֲקֹב אַחֲרֵינוּ כִּי אָמַר אֲכַפְּרָה פָנָיו בַּמִּנְחָה הַהֹלֶכֶת לְפָנָי וְאַחֲרֵי
כֵן אֶרְאֶה פָנָיו אוּלַי יִשָּׂא פָנָי.”“And he commanded
the first group saying, ‘When you meet Esav, my brother, and he will ask you, ‘To
whom do you belong, where are you going, and for whom are these before you?’
And you will say, ‘(We belong) to your servant, Yaakov, it is a gift to my
master, Esav. And, behold, he (Yaakov) is (coming) behind us.’… (And Yaakov
commanded the other two groups) And you will say, ‘Behold! Also your servant,
Yaakov is behind us…” (Bereishis 32: 18-19, 21).

The Kli Yakar asks: In pesukim 18-19, we
are told exactly what Yaakov told his messengers, including the fact that they
should tell Esav that he is following behind them. In pasuk 21, we see Yaakov
talking to the second and third groups of messengers, but there he only
mentions to them to tell Esav that he is following behind them. Without the
pasuk saying anything, we would assume that Yaakov told the exact same thing to
each group; now that the pasuk does tell us something he told to the later
groups, it appears to be the exact same thing he told the first group!
Why does the pasuk repeat this command?

Yaakov figured that Esav would ask his
messengers three questions: who do you belong to, where are you going, and who is
the present for. Therefore, he gave them three answers: we belong to Yaakov, we
are going to Esav, and the present is for him. However, Esav was not
necessarily going to ask where Yaakov was at the moment, maybe because he
figured Yaakov wouldn’t be anywhere near him. Therefore, Yaakov told his
messengers to tell Esav that he himself was coming to meet Esav, in order to
honor him.

The second and third groups would know
that they would need to know the answers to the three questions, otherwise, how
would Esav know who this stuff was for! So those answers they would make sure
they paid attention to while hearing the instructions given to the first group.
However, maybe they would not have to tell him that Yaakov was coming too since
it had nothing to do with Esav’s receiving the gift. Therefore, Yaakov had to
specifically mention to them to tell Esav that he was coming, more than having
to repeat to them the answers to the three questions. So the pasuk is not
simply repeating one piece of Yaakov’s message, it’s actually repeating exactly
what Yaakov told the last groups (it’s the only thing he actually told
them)!

Why was it so important to make sure
each group repeated the message? Wouldn’t it be enough if the first group alone
gave it over? The answer is Yaakov was afraid that Esav would expect him to be
there immediately after the first group. Upon seeing the second group, Esav
would question them as to where Yaakov was and they wouldn’t be able to answer
because they wouldn’t know Yaakov was heading that way! He would assume Yaakov
was lying about the whole thing and wouldn’t accept any of the present, putting
Yaakov in a dangerous position. In order to avoid this potentially tragic
circumstance, Yaakov impressed this message upon the messengers.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

This week's Dvar Torah is in memory of Ezra Schwartz, HY"D. May it be a blessing for his memory.

This week’s parsha is Parshas Vayeitzei,
where the birth of the Jewish People takes place. Yaakov worked for Lavan for
fourteen years in order to marry Rachel and Leah, and through them, as well as
Bilhah and Zilpa, the twelve shevatim are born. After an additional six years
of working for Lavan, Yaakov gets a message from Hashem that it’s time to
leave.

Yaakov was afraid that Lavan would try
to stop him from leaving; so while Lavan was away, Yaakov packed up his family
and his possessions, and left. When Lavan found out, he and his sons chased
down Yaakov and confronted him. A heated argument ensued where we see Yaakov
confront Lavan for all the times he tried to cheat him. At the end, Lavan decides
to set up a treaty with Yaakov as a truce.

“וְעַתָּ֗ה לְכָ֛ה
נִכְרְתָ֥ה בְרִ֖ית אֲנִ֣י וָאָ֑תָּה וְהָיָ֥ה לְעֵ֖ד בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֶֽךָ...אֱלֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֤י נָחוֹר֙ יִשְׁפְּט֣וּ
בֵינֵ֔ינוּ אֱלֹהֵ֖י אֲבִיהֶ֑ם וַיִּשָּׁבַ֣ע יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב בְּפַ֖חַד אָבִ֥יו יִצְחָֽק” “And
now, come, let us form a covenant, you and I, and may He be a witness between
you and me…May the God of Avraham and the god of Nachor judge between us, the
god of their father. And Yaakov swore by the Fear of his father, Yitzchak.” (Bereishis
31:44, 53). Lavan offers Yaakov to affirm the treaty through either Avraham’s
God (the True One), or through Nachor’s (a false god), whichever he is more
comfortable with. But Yaakov takes the third route and swears in the name of “the
Fear of Yitzchak.” Rashi explains that this refers to Hashem. What does this
mean and why did Yaakov do this?

Rabbi Yaakov
Kaminetzky, in his sefer, Emes L’Yaakov, offers an interesting explanation.
During the Seder on Pesach, we read in the Haggada that Lavan was worse than
Paroh since Paroh only tried to kill the Jewish boys while Lavan wanted to
eradicate the entire Jewish Nation. The commentaries ask that we do not see
Lavan ever trying to harm a single one of Yaakov’s children. In fact, he states
multiple times that he loved his daughters and grandchildren very much! They
explain that while Lavan did not try to physically eradicate Bnei Yisrael,
rather, he attempted to spiritually dilute them until they merged with the
general society. Where do we see this?

R’ Yaakov explained
that we find it in this story. When Lavan offers to make a treaty, he actually
offered Yaakov like this: “Let’s take the God you serve, the God of Avraham,
and the god that I serve, the god of Nachor, and join them to truly bond us
together!” He proposed a treaty where the two deities being worshipped, the
True One and the false one, would be merged to create one new “religion” that
would bond him and Yaakov together for generations; a very practical idea for a
treaty. This is what the pasuk means when it refers to “the god of their
fathers”. In this way, the service to Hashem would eventually be worn down
until there was no actual real Judaism left. In this way, Lavan attempted to
completely eradicate the Jewish People, even before they had really started.

As a counter response
to this proposal, Yaakov gave a calculated answer. First, he swore not in the
name of Avraham, whose connection to his brother Nachor, Lavan’s grandfather,
provided a platform where the two systems of belief could potentially merge. Rather,
he chose to swear in the name of Yitzchak, someone who, though he was still
related, never had any connection with his idol-worshipping relatives.
Secondly, he used the phrase, “the Fear of” to refer to Hashem instead of using
the normal Hebrew word for god, “אלוהים”.
Both Hashem and false gods are referred to with this name. Therefore, in order to
completely detach himself from Lavan’s proposal, he used a “nickname” that
referred only to Hashem, the True God, thereby showing that he would only
commit to Him and not to an avoda zara.

In today’s day and
age, we come across different situations in society where we feel a need to
show our support and encouragement towards these circumstances. While it is always
nice and important to show caring and compassion, in each of these instances we
must make sure that we go in from a perspective based on Torah. Every instance may
be supported, but it must be done with the proper outlook, one based on Hashem
and His Torah.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Parshas Toldos begins by reintroducing
us to Yitzchak. However, the introduction seems a little repetitive. “וְאֵ֛לֶּה תּֽוֹלְדֹ֥ת
יִצְחָ֖ק בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם אַבְרָהָ֖ם הוֹלִ֥יד אֶת־יִצְחָֽק”“And these
are the generations of Yitzchak the son of Avraham; Avraham gave birth to
Yitzchak” (Bereishis 25:19). The commentaries all ask why the pasuk has to
repeat itself; after saying that Yitzchak is the son of Avraham, why does the
pasuk turn around and say that Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak? Isn’t that the same
thing?

There are several answers given, ranging
from simple to more complicated. I would like to focus on the answer of the Kli
Yakar.

At the end of last week’s parsha, the
pasuk told us “וְאֵ֛לֶּה תֹּֽלְדֹ֥ת יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם
אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָֽלְדָ֜ה הָגָ֧ר הַמִּצְרִ֛ית”“These are
the generations of Yishmael the son of Avraham; who was born to Hagar the
Egyptian” (25:12). There is a distinct difference between the way the pasuk
describes Yitzchak and Yishmael’s lineage; by Yitzchak, the pasuk calls him the
son of Avraham and that Avraham gave birth to him. By Yishmael, he is called
the son of Avraham, but the pasuk says he was born to Hagar.

In Hebrew language, there is a big
difference between being called someone’s son and someone’s descendent. There
are times when a person can be called someone’s son without being a true
descendent of theirs. For example, students of a specific teacher are called
his children if they accept him as their rebbi, their spiritual guide. A
community can be called the children of their leader if they truly accept his
authority over them.

On the other hand, no matter
what, there are certain natural tendencies, including behavioral, spiritual,
physical, and mental, that all children inherit from their parents. They are a
person’s natural tendencies that make up their character before they make any
changes.

This is the difference between a parent
and a teacher. The tendencies you inherit from your parents make up your
natural state of mind, and are extremely difficult to change out of. However,
that which you learn from your teacher does not come naturally, and is gained
with difficulty but lost easily.

This, explains the Kli Yakar, is the
true difference between Yitzchak and Yishmael. Yishmael is known as Avraham’s
son because he did pick up some good traits by living in Avraham’s house.
However, his natural tendencies leaned towards his mother, Hagar; as we see in
the pasuk, as soon as he left Avraham’s house, he became a bandit (See 21:20).
Therefore, the pasuk tells us that he was truly descended from Hagar.

By Yitzchak, Avraham was both his father
and his rebbi. While he too learned many things from living in his
father’s house, even more so, he naturally imbibed his father’s (and mother’s)
sterling traits, proving him to be the true heir to Avraham. Therefore, the
pasuk tells us that he was both Avraham’s son and that he was descended from
him.

From this parsha, we see how important
it is to make the most of the opportunities provided to us. Yishmael had a
50/50 chance of ending up like Avraham or like Hagar; but instead of going
towards his Avraham tendencies, he went in the opposite direction. When we are
placed in a situation where we can go one way or another, or where we have the
opportunity to connect to someone who can lead us in the right direction, let’s
make sure we don’t act like Yishmael, and take the proper path.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

In this week’s parsha, Parshas Chayei
Sarah, Eliezer travels to Charan to find a wife for Yitzchak, the son of his
master, Avraham. The Torah describes in great detail the tremendous siyata
dishmaya that led Eliezer to finding Rivka and bringing her back to Eretz
Yisrael.

While on his trip, Eliezer meets the
rest of Rivka’s family, including her brother, Lavan. Lavan takes a more
prominent role in later parshiyos when Yaakov goes to live with him; however, one
aspect of Lavan’s character is shown immediately, starting from our parsha.
Lavan was known as a liar and cheat; different examples show this to be
overwhelmingly true, including most famously, his switching Rachel for Leah
under Yaakov’s chuppah, as well as examples in this week’s parsha and other
encounters with Yaakov. However, there is one pasuk in this week’s parsha that
paints a slightly different picture.

“וּלְרִבְקָ֥ה אָ֖ח
וּשְׁמ֣וֹ לָבָ֑ן” “Rivka had a brother whose name was Lavan.” (Bereishis
24:29). The Ohr HaChaim brings a medrash that explains that when a pasuk in the
Torah introduces a tzaddik, it will write, “and his name was…”, but when
talking about a rasha, the pasuk will write, “and…was his name.” So according
to how our pasuk is written, Lavan was actually a tzaddik!

The Ohr HaChaim
explains that by looking at the whole pasuk, we can understand what was
actually happening here.

Immediately after he
is introduced, the pasuk says that Lavan ran down to the well to meet Eliezer,
and the beginning of the next pasuk says he saw the jewelry that Eliezer had
given Rivka. Chazal explain that he ran down to see if Eliezer was going to
hand out any more money; consistent behavior with our overall impression of
him. However, if this was the case, shouldn’t the pasuk say that he first saw
the jewelry and then ran down to meet Eliezer?

Explains the Ohr
HaChaim, after coming home from the well, Rivka told Lavan all about this
stranger who she was very excited about, but who Lavan saw was clearly making advances
on his sister. This immediately brought up protective feelings in Lavan and he immediately
raced down to the well to defend his sister from whomever this man may be,
without even listening to a proper explanation! But after seeing the expensive
jewelry that Eliezer had given Rivka, and listening to him speak, he understood
that Eliezer had only the best intentions in mind and was actually paying his
sister a huge honor by bringing her into the family of Avraham. At this point,
all of Lavan’s suspicions were gone, and he began to plan to separate Eliezer
from his money, once again slipping back into his natural state.

The Ohr HaChaim says
that it was from this small act of running to defend his sister that Lavan
merited having the Bnei Yisrael come from him. From his two daughters, Rachel
and Leah (as well as Bilha and Zilpa according to one opinion) came the twelve
tribes of Yisrael, meaning Lavan was the grandfather of the Jewish People!

While we hopefully
will do more mitzvos and kind acts in our lifetime than Lavan did, it’s
important to realize the power of a single act. It’s not as if Lavan did
something crazy, he was simply following his instinct to protect his sister,
and yet, Hashem rewarded him magnificently. You never know which act you do
will be the one that affects you, your family, and the whole world for
generations to come. Don’t waste the opportunity, this may be it.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Parshas Vayeira begins with Avraham
Avinu welcoming guests into his tent. While Avraham’s propensity for chessed
and Hachnasas Orchim is well-documented in Chazal, this is the only occurrence
in the Torah where his kindness is extensively detailed. The situation at the
time, Avraham was recovering from surgery and it was an extremely hot day, make
it the best example to demonstrate this great middah of his.

The three “guests”, actually angels in
disguise, were ערביים, Arabs. When Avraham goes to greet them and invite them inside,
he makes a strange request. “יֻקַּח־נָ֣א מְעַט־מַ֔יִם וְרַֽחֲצ֖וּ
רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם” “Please take a little bit of water and wash your feet” (Bereishis
18:4). Rashi explains that Arabs would worship the dust, so in order to make
sure no Avoda Zara was brought into his house, Avraham made them wash
the dust off their feet.

It is difficult for us
to understand the draw of Avoda Zara today, but some are easier to
understand than others. To worship the sun or the moon might make sense; they ‘rule’
the sky and they might be the symbols that most represent day to day life. An
argument could be made for certain majestic animals or scenery. But why dust? What
is so amazing about it that would lead someone to worship it as a god?

I heard an explanation
in the name of the Maharal that provides us with an explanation as well as an
important lesson.

The ancient Arabs (and
their modern-day descendants) were extremely dedicated to ‘god’, so much so
that they wanted to make everything they did a holy experience. However, they wouldn’t
try to find out what god wanted from them, they simply decided that whatever
they were doing at the time, regardless of what it was, was what he wanted from
them. Therefore, they were always doing exactly what god wanted from them! And
they would do it 110%.

Therefore, even the
dust under their feet was holy; since the journey they were on was a ‘mission’
from god, the dust on their feet was a part of this holy mission and connected
them to their gods. So Avraham made them wash off even the dust to remove any
potential connection to their worship.

It is this idea of
complete dedication that has made them such a dangerous enemy throughout time. They
are completely dedicated to their idea of god, and they are in complete harmony
with ‘him’. Their fight is with man, and specifically, us. The only way to
counteract this mindset is to counter it with complete dedication of our own.

In this week’s parsha,
we see Avraham recovering from his bris milah, we see him desperately
looking for guests, we see him praying to Hashem to save the city of Sedom and
the surrounding area- a place where there was not even one righteous
individual, and finally, we see Avraham willing to sacrifice his only and
beloved son, Yitzchak. All this in the name of serving Hashem. This is complete
dedication; this is what it takes to be 100% committed to being a true servant
of Hashem.

If we hope to defeat
our enemies, we must look to Avraham Avinu and commit ourselves 100% to serving
Hashem, and even better for us, we know how He should be served! With this, we
should all have a tremendous zchus to see true bracha and yeshua!